^18:1 And Jehovah said to Aaron, You and your sons and your fathers' house with you will bear the iniquity of the sanctuary and you and your sons with you will bear the iniquity of your^* priesthood.

    ^18:2 And your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, bring them near with you, that they may be joined to you and minister to you, but you and your sons with you will be before the tent of the testimony. ^18:3 And they will keep your charge and the charge of all the tent. Only they will not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary and to the altar, that they do not die, neither they, nor you^*. ^18:4 And they will be joined to you and keep the charge of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent and a stranger will not come near to you^*. ^18:5 And you^* will keep the charge of the sanctuary and the charge of the altar, that no more wrath is upon the sons of Israel.

    ^18:6 And I, behold, I have taken your^* brothers the Levites from among the sons of Israel. They are a gift to you^*, given to Jehovah, to do the service of the tent of meeting. ^18:7 And you and your sons with you will keep your^* priesthood for everything of the altar and for that within the veil and you^* will serve. I give you^* the priesthood as a service of gift. And the stranger who comes near will be put to death.

    ^18:8 And Jehovah spoke to Aaron, And I, behold, I have given you the charge of my heave-offerings, even all the holy things of the sons of Israel. I have given them to you by reason of the anointing and to your sons, as a everlasting portion. ^18:9 This will be yours of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, even every food-offering of theirs and every sin-offering of theirs and every guilt-offering of theirs, which they will render to me, will be most holy for you and for your sons. ^18:10 As the most holy things you will eat of it; every male will eat of it. It will be holy to you.

    ^18:11 And this is yours: the heave-offering of their gift, even all the wave-offerings of the sons of Israel. I have given them to you and to your sons and to your daughters with you, as an everlasting portion. Everyone who is clean in your house will eat of it.^18:12 All the best of the oil and all the best of the new wine and of the grain, the first-fruits of them which they give to Jehovah, I have given them to you. ^18:13 The first-ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to Jehovah, will be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house will eat of it.^18:14 Everything devoted in Israel will be yours.

    ^18:15 Everything that opens the womb, of all flesh which they offer to Jehovah, both of man and beast will be yours. Nevertheless the firstborn of man you will surely redeem and the first-offspring of unclean beasts you will redeem. ^18:16 And those that are to be redeemed of them from a month old you will redeem, according to your evaluation, for the money of five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary (what is twenty gerahs). ^18:17 But the first-offspring of an ox, or the first-offspring of a sheep, or the first-offspring of a goat, you will not redeem. They are holy. You will sprinkle their blood upon the altar and will burn their fat for a fire-offering, for a sweet aroma to Jehovah. ^18:18 And the flesh of them will be yours. As the wave-offering and as the right thigh, it will be yours.

    ^18:19 All the heave-offerings of the holy things, which the sons of Israel offer to Jehovah, I have given you and your sons and your daughters with you, as an everlasting portion. It is a covenant of salt forever before Jehovah to you and to your seed with you.

    ^18:20 And Jehovah said to Aaron, You will have no inheritance in their land, neither will you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel. ^18:21 And to the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the tent of meeting.

    ^18:22 And hereafter the sons of Israel will not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. ^18:23 But the Levites will do the service of the tent of meeting and they will bear their iniquity. It will be an everlasting statute throughout your^* genealogy. And among the sons of Israel they will have no inheritance.

    ^18:24 Because the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they offer as a heave-offering to Jehovah, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said to them, Among the sons of Israel they will have no inheritance.

    ^18:25 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ^18:26Moreover you will speak to the Levites and say to them, When you^* take from the sons of Israel the tithe which I have given you^* from them for your^* inheritance, then you^* will offer up a heave-offering of it for Jehovah, a tithe of the tithe. ^18:27 And your^* heave-offering will be reckoned to you^*, as though it were the grain of the threshing-floor and as the fullness of the winepress. ^18:28 Therefore you^* also will offer a heave-offering to Jehovah of all your^* tithes, which you^* receive of the sons of Israel. And from it you^* will give Jehovah's heave-offering to Aaron the priest. ^18:29 Out of all your^* gifts you^* will offer every heave-offering of Jehovah, of all the best of it, even the holy part of it out of it.

    ^18:30 Therefore you will say to them, When you^* heave the best of it from it, then it will be reckoned to the Levites as the increase of the threshing-floor and as the increase of the wine-press. ^18:31 And you^* will eat it in every place, you^* and your^* households, because it is your^* reward in return for your^* service in the tent of meeting. ^18:32 And you^* will bear no sin by reason of it, when you^* have heaved from it the best of it. And you^* will not profane the holy things of the sons of Israel, that you^* do not die.